Say Cheese

 Have you ever wondered why people in old pictures looked either crabby or constipated?  Though it could have been either of those reasons there were also other considerations. When photography was still new pictures of people were impractical as it took up to 8 hours of exposure time but by 1839 daguerreotype was introduced lessening the exposure time to around 20 minutes. Considering how long people had to sit still with the same expression it was easier to relax with the resting bitch face, even when the exposure time became 20 seconds a smile often became a grimace when held too long. In the Victorian era people were asked to say "prunes" to tighten their expression as smiling in photos at that time was thought to indicate someone was poor, drunk, lewd or otherwise corrupt. If only they could see us now!